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Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. If you can't find orecchiette pasta, try using small shells or farfelle/bow ties instead.
   
   
2. Today's cucumber and tomato salad can be made fresh in the morning. You should make enough for tonight and Thursday, so if you need to double the recipe, be sure to add the ingredients to the grocery list. Smaller families should be able to get by with just one recipe for both nights.
   

 Chicken Orecchiette

• 1 (16 oz) package Pasta LaBella Orecchiette
• 1/2 cup light extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup green onions
• 3 cups cooked and cubed chicken meat
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2-3 tsp. dried*)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 oz. feta cheese (the kind that is flavored with basil works great)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place hot pasta in mixing bowl. Pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar over pasta. Add tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and chicken. Toss well. Add basil, salt, pepper, feta, and Parmesan cheese. Toss well and serve immediately.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 ripe tomatoes, minced
• 1-2 cucumbers, minced
• 1 lg. red pepper, minced
• 1 lg. red onion , minced
• basil, oregano, tarragon, and parsley (fresh if available, dried if necessary) to taste
• Lots of fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 squeeze lemon

Stir in olive oil - enough to "coat" everything. Serve chilled.

  Italian Bread dipped in Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Mix together 3 tbsp. olive oil to 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar on a small plate. Dip fresh Italian bread in your balsamic mix and enjoy!

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Breakfast for dinner, yum! We are going to serve fresh fruit with tonight's dinner. You can either serve your waffles with fruit and whipped cream or serve them with syrup (using pure maple is much healthier than syrups based on corn syrup) and serve the fruit as a side dish. I have given you both a healthy blender batter version that uses whole grains and a not so healthy version that uses regular flour. Blueberries are on the grocery list; modify this to your family's tastes.
   
   
2. Any extra waffles you have can be frozen for easy and healthy breakfasts. If you are feeling industrious, make an extra batch just for the freezer.
   
   

Healthy Waffles*

1. Preheat waffle iron or pancake griddle to highest temperature.
   
   
2. Place in blender and blend at high speed for 4-5 minutes or until smooth:
   
   • 1 1/2 Cups buttermilk (or fruit juice or non-dairy alternative
   • 1 egg
   • 2 TB olive oil
   • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
   • 2 TB honey
   • 1/3 cup raw brown rice
   • 1/2 cup wheat berries
   • 1/2 cup rolled oats

   The secret to getting light and tender waffles is the thinness of the batter. The batter should always swirl about a vortex in the blender. If not, add a little liquid until the hole reappears. This is very important.

3. Blend in briefly just before baking:
   
   • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
   • 1 tsp. salt
   • 2 tsp. baking powder (non-aluminum is healthiest)
     
     
4. Pour thin batter from blender onto seasoned, hot waffle iron or pancake griddle sprayed with olive oil non-stick spray. Bake about 4 minutes for waffles or until the light goes off. Don't Peek! For pancakes, bake on first side until bubbles on unbaked side begin to break; turn once and bake on second side.

For many more grain variations for pancakes and waffles see BREAKFASTS...with Blender Batter Baking and Allergy Alternatives by Sue Gregg.

Recipe from Marilyn Moll of www.urbanhomemaker.com

Not so healthy waffles

• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup pecan meal (option but delicious)

Mix dry ingredients well. In a separate container mix wet ingredients. Combine and mix until just smooth. Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and cook according to the instructions for your waffle iron.

Scrambled or Fried Eggs

 

 

Bacon* or Sausage

Blueberries

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. I have doubled the ingredients for Sloppy Joes so that you can use half for Friday's Sloppy Joe Pizza.
   
   
2. I am adding 5 lbs. ground beef to the list. You can use two for the Sloppy Joes and the other 3 to be browned and frozen to replace what you used this week. Remember to rotate your freezer so you use the oldest first.
   
   
3. I have added a bag of onions and 3 bell peppers. Chop and saute these together and freeze all but what you need for tonight's Sloppy Joes just like you freeze your onions.
   
   

 Sloppy Joes

Recipe is here. Be sure to double it and save half for Friday's pizza. Serve over hamburger buns.

 

Tater Tots

 

Seasoned Green Beans

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday: none

1. Wash all spinach tonight. Steam half of the spinach for tonight, seasoning with vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and use the remaining spinach for a small spinach salad for tomorrow.
   
   

   Breaded Pork Chops

• 6 pork chops, trimmed of fat
• bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• oil for browning

Tenderize pork chops with a metal pounder. Beat eggs in a bowl. Put bread crumbs in a container large enough to fit one pork chop in it at a time. Dip each pork chop in the bread crumbs, then the egg, then back into the bread crumbs. Line a 9x13 pan with heavy duty foil and preheat oven to 350°.

Heat oil in a fry pan. Brown the breaded pork chops lightly on each side. Place chops in the foil lined pan and bake covered at 350° for 1 hour, turning halfway through.

Leftover Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Steamed Spinach* or Kale

  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.

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Prepare the Jello Parfait in the morning.
   
   
2. I recommend periodically making a double (or triple) pizza dough recipe in your bread machine or large mixer and freezing the extra dough for an easy lunch or dinner another day. The Urban Homemaker has a double pizza dough recipe that is very good. It has variations for garlic, herbed, or seeded dough.
   
   

  Sloppy Joe Pizza

• 2 cups Sloppy Joe sauce from Wednesday
• 3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1-1/2 cups colby-jack or Mexican blend* cheese
• 1 recipe bread machine pizza dough, prepared and baked until almost done

In a skillet, combine Sloppy Joe sauce, corn, and green onions. Heat through. Spread mixture on top of baked pizza crust and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

Spinach Salad


Jell-O Parfait

• 1 sm. Jell-O (strawberry-banana)
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Fresh strawberries* or other available berries
• 2 Bananas, sliced

Mix the Jell-O packet with the sour cream. Add vanilla and mix well. Fold in Cool Whip. Layer fruit and Jell-O mixture in parfait glasses. Chill. Serve cold.

 

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

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