Weekly Menu: Week of Sept 9

Pinterest Night: Chicken Confetti Pasta

For Pinterest Night this week, I chose to make Chicken Confetti Pasta. 

I followed the recipe, with the exception of adding mushrooms and carrots to the list of vegetables.

I also used a different type of pasta than the recipe called for. I chose to use Caserecci...which is to die for.

Everything else was the same.

This recipe was pinned from the site bakecakery.com and it is completely delicious.

Not partially. COMPLETELY.

5 STARS.

A look at the process.

I HATE the look of meat while it's cooking...but since it's part of the "process" - I will include it. 

Ew. Pink Chicken. Shivers.

I started cooking the pasta while i prepped the veggies.

 The sauteing began in the order specified.

 

It was so beautiful when all of the vegetables were combined.

The vegetables were added to the bowl of cooked chicken to socialize while the cream sauce was made.

The sauce. Oh my goodness. 

The red pepper flakes simmered in the sauce and then the cheese was added to thicken things up.

I chose to combine Asiago and Parmesan, instead of the feta.

I guess I didn't follow the recipe as much as I thought I did...but who can go wrong with this cheese combo in a cream sauce?

Let me answer that for you. No one.

I tossed the cream sauce with the pasta to ensure everything the noodles were coated and then tossed in the chicken/vegetable mixture.

It was gorgeous.

I threw a green salad on the side and voila! 

Dinner was served.

This recipe is a keeper! 

Weekly Menu: September 2

School is officially back in full swing. Gone are the days of staying at the pool until sunset and grabbing something to eat on the fly. It's time to get back to a schedule and this includes meal planning. I thought I would try and do better at posting on my food blog and document any extreme deliciousness we encounter. This Fall I am going to venture out and have a Pinterest Night - where I try something that I have pinned and not yet made. Should be an adventure! Here is this week's menu. I will post recipes and pics, soon!

Oh, and p.s....please don't be fooled into thinking that treats only happen on the weekend. Sadly for my rump...they happen much more regularly than this. This is just a goal :)

Oven Baked Baby Beef Stew

Last night we enjoyed some pretty incredible beef stew. I found two recipes on Pinterest that looked good…but each had something yummy that the other lacked. I decided to marry the two. They fell in love and  made one delicious baby…therefore the title of the recipe. This is goooood stuff.

So here it is:

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds lean stew meat

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

flour

1 small onion, chopped

2 regular cans stewed tomatoes

1 regular can tomato soup

1 regular can beef broth

1/2 C. white wine

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. basil

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 bay leaf

1/3 C. instant Tapioca

4 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 ribs celery, cut into 1 inch chunks

4 medium red potatoes, cut into quarters or eighths depending on size

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Heat oil and brown stew meat in Dutch oven. Remove meat from pan. (I coated my stew meat with a little flour before this)

3. In same Dutch oven, add beef broth, tomato soup, brown sugar, white wine, tapioca, salt, pepper, basil, and garlic until combined.

4. Open tomatoes, and using kitchen shears, coarsely cut tomatoes while in the can. Pour tomatoes, including juices, into Dutch oven and stir.

5. Alternately add beef, celery, carrots, onions and potatoes to Dutch oven, folding and stirring to make sure everything is coated.

6. Place lid on Dutch oven and put in oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat and veggies are tender.

Cashew Chicken

I made this for dinner last night and it was too good! I had to share. I found the recipe on “How Sweet It Is” …. one of my new favorite recipe blogs.

This was definitely a winner! The kids gobbled it up and didn’t even flinch at the endamame. Imagine that.

This is not my pic. It is from the recipe blog. It disappeared before I could get my camera out.

I adjusted this recipe to feed 5-6. This was wonderful with Jasmine Rice. Mmmmm….

Cashew Chicken

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped

4 tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cup mushrooms

1 red pepper, sliced thin

5 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup shelled edamame

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup unsalted cashews

6 tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then sprinkle cornstarch on chicken pieces and make sure each piece is somewhat coated. (You can add a little more if needed.) Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and add chicken. Brown on both sides until cooked, about 5 minutes per side. Add garlic, red pepper, edamame, half of the green onions and cashews and stir for 30 seconds. Turn heat to medium low.

In a small bowl, mix soy sauce and honey. Pour into skillet, coating chicken and vegetables. Serve with jasmine rice.

French Dip Sanwiches

Many-o-recipes I have tried...and this is our favorite. The au jus is amazing! We top ours with provolone cheese...pop it under the broiler for a minute to get it melty, crunchy, cheesey, and perfectly heated. Will have to make this again soon. Recipe compliments of allrecipes.com

This is delish served with garlic mayo:

1/2 C. Mayo
1 clover of garlic

Ingredients
1 (3 pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup, undiluted
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef consomme, undiluted
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
8 French or Italian rolls, split
Provolone cheese

Directions

Halve roast and place in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine the soup, consomme, broth and bouillon; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat and shred with two forks. Serve on rolls. Skim fat from cooking juices and serve as a dipping sauce.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

This is one of my family’s favorite meals…but they don’t get it very often. I call this the “dirtiest” meal I know how to make due to how the kitchen looks afterwards. Expect this to be a 2 dishwasher load meal. It’s worth it…believe me…but only once in a blue moon. Tom and I have an unspoken agreement. If I make this meal…he is MOST DEFINITELY doing the dishes. Both loads.

*I start my rice (long grain, white) at the beginning of the process...the timing is always perfect. I use the typical, 2 to 1 rice ration…with a teeny extra bit of water. I also add a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp. of butter to the boiling water…because the meal isn’t already unhealthy enough.

Step One: VEGGIES

3-4 carrots, sliced

1 green pepper, cut into medium pieces

1 red pepper, cut into medium pieces

1 onion, cut into medium pieces

COOK carrot in small amount of boiling water for 2 minutes. Add green and red peppers; cook one minute. Drain; rinse with COLD water. Set aside. (pic was post boiling. Do NOT boil the onions).

Step 2: CHICKEN

This can be fried or stir-fried. Let your conscience guide you. Tonight, I ignored my January guilt, pulled out the big guns, and went all out. I will include instructions for both ways.

Stir Fried Chicken:

Cut 1 pound of boneless, skinless, chicken breast into 1 inch, bite sized pieces. Season (I don't measure) with salt, pepper, and ginger powder (you can use fresh).

Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil (I use canola or vegetable) in large skillet or wok. Stir fry chicken for 4-5 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Fried Chicken:

Cut 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast into chunks. I prefer the chicken, bigger, if it’s fried.

Prepare one bowl with flour (about 1 C). Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Prepare another bowl with 3-4 eggs, beaten. In the third bowl...repeat the four mixture in the first bowl.

Heat some oil in frying pan...about 1/2 inch deep.

In batches, dredge chicken with flour (bowl #1)---dip pieces into egg (bowl #2) --- and then dredge chicken in flour (bowl #3).

Fry chicken in oil, turning, until golden brown.

Step 3: SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE (while chicken is cooking)

3/4 C. sugar

1/3 C. ketchup

1 T. Soy Sauce

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks

3 1/2 T. Corn Starch

1/3 C. water

1/2 C. white vinegar

COMBINE sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, salt, and pepper in medium sauce pan; stir well. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; stir pineapple juice into sugar mixture. Bring to a boil.

COMBINE cornstarch and water, stirring until smooth; add cornstarch mixture and vinegar to juice mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and is bubbly.

STIR in vegetables and pineapple chunks.

The Grand Finale

Heat 1 tsp. oil in wok…add veggies and 1 clove minced garlic and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken.

Pour sauce over chicken and toss.

Serve it up! (With Fortune Cookies)