So how did everyone’s week go? I froze! It is still freezing in Florida, can you believe it? I never felt that the words Florida and freezing would be in the same sentence!?! Since I have been freezing I’ve been making warm comfort food, yumm. This weeks menu consist of a quick meal that is super quick, made in under 20 minutes. A couple of Crockpot meals, casserole type meals and one breakfast for dinner meals. Let me know what you think and as always I hope your week is fabulous!
Grocery List:
Produce:
Yellow Onion, 4
Garlic Bulb, 1
Pears, 3
Potatoes, small bag
Carrots, bag
Celery, bag
***For Chili, choose either 8 fresh green chili’s or cans of green chili
Pantry:
Chopped Pecans, small bag
1 lb Rigatoni Pasta
Chicken Stock, 1 box
Beef Stock, 1 box
BBQ Sauce, 1 small
1 Pkg of Hamburger Buns
Brioche Bread, 1 loaf
White Corn Tortillas, sm pkg (need 18)
Dill Pickles
Mustard
Brown Sugar
Lipton Spanish Rice Mix
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 bag of pinto beans, enough for 4 cups
Meats/Deli:
1 lb ground chuck
1 (3 lb) Pork Loin
2 lbs of stew beef
4 Chicken Breasts or 1 Rotisserie Chicken
3 cups of cooked chicken for enchiladas 1 Rotisserie Chicken works.
1 pkg of Thick Sliced Bacon
Seafood:
Spices/Staples:
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Flour
Vanilla
Nutmeg
Cinnamon and Sugar Mixture
Worcestershire Sauce
Dairy:
Whole Ricotta Cheese, 1 small container
Heavy Cream, 1 large
Parmesan Cheese, 1
Cheddar Cheese, Sliced
Cheddar Cheese, 1 large block
Eggs
Milk
Butter
Frozen:
Peas, sm pkg
Puff Pastry, 1 pkg
Quick Meal 1
Ok, so this is the super quick meal. While I was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, knowing that dinner had to be made but not wanting to move, I decided to use the pound of hamburger on the counter and throw a few items together to create a pasta dish I called Lazy Lasagna. While it won’t taste like the homemade lasagna that took all day to create, it is one great and fast meal that has the components and was a hit with the family, especially the kiddos.
Recipe courtesy of: Jo Davison
Serves 6
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 lb Ground Chuck
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 lb Rigatoni, prepared. Save 1/4 cup of stock water.
Start a stock pot of water to cook pasta and prepare as directed. In a saucepan heat oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes. Add chuck and brown. Season with S & P and Italian seasoning. When cooked through, add the Ricotta cheese, mix well, add the stock water and heavy cream. Simmer and cook until thickened. After draining pasta, return to pot, add cream mixture and parmesan cheese, combine throughly. Serve immediately.
Quick Meal 2
So here is a Crockpot meal that takes really no time at all. I pared my sandwiches with a quick pasta salad.
Serves 8
1 med yellow onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 (3 lb) pork loin
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
8 hamburger buns
8 slices of cheddar cheese
mustard and pickles in you like
In a Crockpot add the pork loin along with the onion and garlic. Add chicken stock or water to cover pork loin 3/4 of the way up. Do not cover up pork loin completely. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. To assemble sandwiches remove pork loin and shred with 2 forks, add the BBQ sauce. Assemble the sandwiches with the meat, cheese, mustard and pickles.
Have you tried Crockpot liners? I love them... there is absolutely no clean up! Pick them up at any store in the paper goods isle.
Got Some Time - Meal 1
Nothing says bring on the cold like a great homemade stew. This really could be another quick meal since it’s so easy to make. Add some crusty bread and you have a perfect meal. This meal freezes great!
Serves 10 to 12
2 pounds stew beef
2 tbs Olive oil
2 cups Beef Stock
2 cups water
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 potatoes, large cubed
1 large onion, large diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 can of diced tomatoes
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat a saucepan with olive oil on high heat and sear stew meat for a few seconds. In a Crockpot add all the ingredients together and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.
Got Some Time - Meal 2
So while we’re a family that loves breakfast, we are not a family that likes to eat breakfast in the morning. So to get our breakfast fix, we eat breakfast food for dinner. To round out the meal I served it with bacon! Place bacon on a cookie sheet with a wire rack and bake in the oven at 375 until crisp. Easier than frying and a lot less mess!
Recipe courtesy of Jo Davison
Serves 6
3 pears, diced
1 tsp canola oil
3 tbs butter
3 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped (small chop)
9 pieces of brioche bread or white bread, unsliced
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of nutmeg
Cinnamon and sugar mixture
In a non-stick saucepan heat the butter and oil on medium-high heat, add pears and cook through for approximately 7 minutes or until pears are soft. Add the brown sugar and pecans and cook for a few minutes until the flavors are combined. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat for 1 minute. Lightly spray the griddle with cooking spray. In a shallow dish add the beaten eggs, milk, vanilla and nutmeg. Mix together.
Slice the bread into thick pieces and dip the bread in the egg and milk mixture. Place the French toast on the griddle and cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until browned. Flip and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes on the other side.
Cut each piece in half and place the divided French toast on the plate, sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar and top with the pear and pecan mixture.
Got Some Time - Meal 3
I love chicken pot pies, southern comfort food, yum. If you don’t need 8 servings place the extra 4 ramekins in the freezer. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and when you want to eat them just defrost, add the puff pastry to it and bake off. Instant homemade meal that took no time at all.
Recipe courtesy of Jo Davison
Serves 8
2 tbs Olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, minced
3/4 cup carrots, minced
3/4 cup celery, minced
4 chicken breast halves, or 1 Rotisserie Chicken
Salt and pepper
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 can of cream of celery soup
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen green peas, cooked
1 cup of cheddar cheese, diced
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg, optional
2 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Heat oven to 375.
In a saucepan heat olive oil on high and cook chicken breasts, cook through and remove from pan, let rest. (When chicken has rested for 10 minutes, cube.) Add butter to the pan and add the onions, carrots and celery. Sauté until cooked through. When veggies are soft add the flour and cook for a minute or so to cook out the flour taste. Add the cooked chicken, soup, chicken stock and heavy cream. Simmer until thickened a bit, you may add either stock or heavy cream to create the consistently you like. When this is achieved add the peas and cheese and the grated nutmeg. Fill 8 ramekins with the filling (or 1 large pie pan). Run a paper towel with oil on it around the edges of the ramekins so the puff pastry won't stick. Cut the pastry sheet in 4's and top each ramekin, cut a slit on top to allow for air. Brush with beaten egg and cook until pastry is cooked through. Nicely browned and flakey.
Pass the Wine, I got all the time to cook - Meal 1
Since I grew up in the chili capital of the world I place green chili on everything. While I know that green chili is going to be available to those in NM, the green chili I’m accustomed to eating is not available here in Florida. Such a bummer. I love my chili so much that I have mine shipped to me. No reason to fret if you don’t live in NM, you can still make this great dish. Head out to your local grocery store, you can either purchase canned green chili’s or I’ve noticed some fresh Anaheim or Poblanos here. If you decide to go fresh you can roast them in your oven. Bake at 400, keep checking them, when the skin blisters they are ready to peel and use. Place leftovers in individual plastic containers and freeze, you have an instant lunch.
Recipe courtesy of Jo Davison
Serves 8 to 10
Canola or Peanut Oil to fry
18 White Corn Tortillas
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 brick of cream cheese
3 cups of cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works great)
1 cup of roasted green chili, seeded and chopped
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
4 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Heat oven to 350.
Heat a saucepan with the oil, enough to fry the tortillas. Cook each tortilla for about 5 seconds on each side, just enough to soften and brown a bit. Lay the cooked tortillas on paper towels to absorb some of the oil. In a medium bowl add the soup and cream cheese and mix on low to cream the mixture together. To assemble the dish, you will do so in 3 layers. 1st layer, lay down 6 tortillas at the bottom of a casserole dish, add a third of the cream cheese mixture, a third of the cooked chicken, season with salt and pepper and a third of the cheese. On the next layer repeat the process but add the chili above the chicken and season the chili with the garlic powder. Finish up the last layer, cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for and additional 7 - 10 minutes.
Recipe courtesy of Jo DavisonServes 8 - 10
4 cups of dried pinto beans or 1 small bag
Salt
2 tbs Olive Oil
2 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into 1 " pieces
Go through the beans and remove any dark black beans, dirt or any bean that may not look right. Add beans to a stockpot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Once beans boil remove from heat and empty into a colander. Add beans to the empty stockpot again and once again add the olive oil and water to the pot and bring beans to a boil. Once beans come to a boil empty into the Crockpot. (There should be enough water to fill a large Crockpot with only about an inch of room left) Salt the beans, approximately 3 teaspoons of salt and the bacon. Cook on low for approximately 7 to 8 hours. Make sure that the beans do not dry out.
Place leftover beans in the freezer in individual plastic containers and when a recipe asks for pinto beans you can use your leftovers instead of canned beans.
Place leftover beans in the freezer in individual plastic containers and when a recipe asks for pinto beans you can use your leftovers instead of canned beans.
Spanish Rice
I personally like Lipton’s Spanish Rice mix. Easy and tastes great.
Don’t have 2 Crockpots, make your beans the day before.
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