Menu for January 30 - February 3, 2006

Please check the message board if you have questions or comments about these recipes.

Monday - Recipes

Stuffed Pork Chops
Steamed Asparagus
Cooked Apples

Tuesday - Recipes

Eye of Round
Corn Casserole
Rice
Salad

Wednesday - Recipes

Black Beans and Rice
Corn
Salad

Thursday - Recipes

Crustless Quiche
Sausage Patties or Links
Buttermilk Biscuits
Fruit

Friday - Recipes

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for January 30 - February 3, 2006 - PDF

Shopping List Software format (download shopping list free Windows software)

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. You may have to request that your butcher cut tonight's pork chops for you to make sure they are thick enough.

 Stuffed Pork Chops

• 4-6 boneless thick pork loin chops
• 8 oz. crumbled blue cheese
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 tsp. dried chives
• adobo seasoning (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)

Using a sharp knife, cut a slit into each pork chop to make a pocket, taking care not to cut all the way through. Mix together cheese, bacon, and chives. Divide cheese filling into loose balls equal to the number of pork chops you are cooking. Stuff each pork chop with the ball of cheese filling and secure opening with a toothpick. Sprinkle lightly with adobo and pepper on both sides of chops. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until done. These can also be baked in the microwave.

 Steamed Asparagus (fresh* or frozen)

 

 

 Cooked apples

• 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 2 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 T. water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until apples are tender. Serve hot or cold.

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Tonight's roast and gravy will provide a dinner for today and leftovers for Friday's meal, so don't gobble up all of the leftovers!
   
   
2. In keeping with Menus 4 Moms' effort to keep prep time to a minimum, we will make a large salad tonight which we will eat of off tonight and tomorrow night, saving prep time tomorrow. Be sure to keep your crunchies (bacon, sunflower seeds, croutons, etc.) and dressing separate from the lettuce and vegetables and combine all just before serving.

 Eye of Round

• 3-4 lb. eye of round roast
• salt
• pepper
• oil

Preheat oven to 325°. Salt and pepper the outside of the roast on all sides. If you have a dutch oven that can be used on the stovetop and in the oven that would be best. If you don't you will need to transfer the roast to an oven-safe pan before baking. Heat enough oil to barely cover the bottom of a dutch oven large enough to hold roast. Brown roast on all sides in oil. Cover pan and place in preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours. Check for tenderness after about an hour and continue cooking until roast is done all the way through and tender. Add a little water if the juices dry out.  

Remove roast from oven and place on stovetop. Carefully add 1/2-3/4 cup hot water to pan (water hitting hot drippings may splatter). Remove roast from pan and place on a platter for slicing. Mix about 2 Tbsp. flour with 3 Tbsp. hot water in a jar with a lid, shaking until flour is dissolved. Add this to the juices in the pan to create gravy (pour through a strainer to avoid lumps). If you are concerned that you will not have enough gravy (remember that we will need some on Friday for hot roast beef sandwiches), you can stretch the amount by adding beef broth.

Slice roast and serve with rice and gravy.

 White or brown* rice, prepared according to instructions

 Corn Casserole

• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add flour, and stir until thick. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x9 casserole dish. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until firm and slightly brown.

 

 Salad

Make a large salad with mixed greens, your choice of chopped vegetables, cheese, etc. Separately combine sunflower seeds, crumbled bacon, croutons, etc. Reserve half of salad and crouton mixture, reserving half for Wednesday. Combine salad, crouton mixture, and dressing just before serving.

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. This would be a good time to replenish your freezer supply of onions. We will wait until summer when bell peppers are less expensive to freeze those.

 Black Beans and Rice

• 1 onion, sauteed (cook a whole bag and freeze the extra)
• 1 green bell pepper, sauteed (from freezer)
• 2 cups black beans* (from freezer) or 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup salsa
• salt and pepper
• white or brown* rice (enough for your family)

Combine all ingredients except rice in a skillet. Cover and let simmer while preparing rice. Add water if necessary. Serve beans over rice when rice is ready.

 

  Corn (or leftover Corn Casserole)

  Salad (from last night)

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. You can double the quiche recipe and freeze a batch in a dated freezer bag if you wish.
   
   
2. We will make a double recipe of biscuits and individually freeze half for later use.

 Crustless quiche

• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients and pour into a well-greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350° and cook for 30-40 more minutes.

 Sausage patties or links

I like the Brown and Serve kind because I know they are cooked all the way through so I don't have to cremate them to be sure they are done.

 Buttermilk biscuits

• 4 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk

Combine flour and butter, cutting with a fork. Stir in buttermilk. Add more flour if too wet, more buttermilk if too dry. When dough is rolling consistency, knead a few times and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter or upside down glass. Bake half of the biscuits on cookie sheet at 475° until brown. Place the other half of the biscuits on a cookie sheet or other flat pan and put in the freezer until frozen. Before going to bed or early the next morning, bag the biscuits in a dated freezer bag for later use. Follow the same cooking instructions. If cooking thawed biscuits, follow normal cooking instructions. To cook frozen biscuits, extend cooking time. Serve hot biscuits with butter and jelly.

 

 Fruit of your choice

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Use leftover roast and gravy from Tuesday for this meal.

  Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Slice leftover roast beef thinly and heat. Place roast beef slices on top of bread and cover with hot gravy before serving.

 

 Mashed Potatoes

• 6 potatoes
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• milk
• Adobo seasoning to taste

Peel potatoes and quarter. Boil in enough water to cover potatoes until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients except milk and mash with a potato masher or large fork. Add enough milk to make potatoes creamy. If you like very creamy mashed potatoes you can use a mixer to get a good whipped consistency. If you like lumpy potatoes, I recommend using a fork or potato masher to maintain a more solid consistency. If you want a healthier version, omit sour cream and cheese, mix with skim milk and add butter buds for flavor. Serve with butter or gravy.

 

 

 Broccoli

 

* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.