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Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday (Memorial Day):

1. About 5 weeks ago we prepared hamburger patties for the freezer. If you still have those in your freezer, you are ahead of the game today. Go ahead and thaw and use the ones out of your freezer. If you don't have any in your freezer (I don't because I used them on a weekend), follow the recipe for today and note that there is extra hamburger on your shopping list for restocking your freezer.
   
   
2. This potato salad recipe has been a family favorite for years. Plan ahead because it needs to chill.
   
   
   

  Hamburgers and Hot Dogs

I usually use 1 lb. of ground beef, an egg, and Adobo seasoning (easily found in the spice section of most grocery stores; substitute garlic salt if you can't find it) to make patties. We are going to increase this mixture to 5 lbs. of ground beef, 5 eggs, and *lots* of Adobo seasoning. You may add some bread crumbs if you wish. Shape patties for tonight's dinner, then take the extra meat and divide it equally between hamburger patty shapes and meatball shapes for the freezer. Flash freeze the meatballs (already cooked if you have time now, or uncooked remembering to leave time to cook them in the future when you go to use them), then put into dated freezer bags. Freeze the hamburger patties with wax paper between each layer in a dated freezer bag.

Grill hamburgers and hot dogs and serve on buns with your favorite condiments.

Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns

 

  Grilled Vegetables

GeGe's Potato Salad

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp butter/margarine
• 3/4 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup mayo* or salad dressing
• 7 med potatoes, cooked peeled and diced
• 3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
• paprika

In sauce pan, combine sugar and corn starch. Add next 6 ingredients and
3/4 tsp salt. Cook and stir over low heat until bubbly. Remove from heat.
Add onion and mayo and cool. Combine potatoes and hard cooked eggs. Gently fold in dressing. Chill. Just before serving sprinkle with paprika.

  Fruit Salad

Your favorite combination of canned or fresh fruit. I suggest grapes, banana, apple, and pineapple (these are on your grocery list). Serve with vanilla yogurt.

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. This "lasagna" recipe is meatless and the grocery list will reflect the vegetarian dish. You can, however, add some taco seasoned ground beef if you have "meat eaters" in your crew.
   
   
2. Although the peaches are absolutely delicious with honey and nuts, you may want to serve plain sliced peaches for the younger children.
   
   
   

Mexican Black Bean "Lasagna"

• 2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 can black beans (15 oz.)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (14.5 oz.)
• 1 can chopped green chiles
• 4-6 flour tortillas
• 2 cups four cheese Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 400 °F . Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Coat an 11 x 7 in. baking dish with cooking spray. Place a layer of
tortillas in the bottom of the dish. Spoon half of the corn and tomato
mixture over the tortillas. Top with one cup of cheese. Repeat the layers.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Mexican Corn

 Honey Nut Peaches

• 3 small peaches, pitted and sliced
• 3 T. chopped pecans* or walnuts
• 3 tsp. honey

Preheat broiler (toaster oven is fine). Lay peach slices on broiling pan and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with nuts and broil for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. I like to use chicken breasts for this dish (you can use bone-in or boneless) but you may prefer thighs or some other part.
   
   
2. I like to serve my chicken parmesan over a bed of angel hair pasta and then pour a small amount of spaghetti sauce over the chicken and the pasta. You can try it this way, or you can serve the pasta and sauce as a side dish.
   
   
3. With the extra spaghetti sauce you can either freeze it, save it for use over the weekend, or cook some extra pasta like ziti to mix with the sauce, sprinkle a little cheese over the top and freeze for later use. (This is not on your grocery list...just suggestions for using up sauce so that it doesn't go to waste.)

 

 Baked Chicken Parmesan

• 3lb. chicken parts
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1 clove garlic or 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 cup melted butter

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, pepper, and salt; set aside. Lightly saute garlic in 2 T. butter then stir in remaining butter. Dip chicken in garlic butter then roll each piece in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture. Pour on remaining butter. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes.

  Angel Hair Pasta with Prepared Spaghetti Sauce

• 1/2 lb. angel hair pasta, prepared according to instructions
• 1/2 jar prepared spaghetti sauce

Heat sauce in a small pan and pour over cooked pasta. Serve with chicken.

 

  Broccoli

- fresh or frozen, cooked as you prefer

 

  Cheese Sauce

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (you may also use Velveeta for this)

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. After milk is blended, cook several minutes until slightly thickened. Add cheese to taste and melt. Serve on top of vegetables.

 

Rolls

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Prepare the steak in the morning so it can marinate all day.
   
   
2. We will be using extra flank steak from tonight in tomorrow's salad. You can marinade the extra meat overnight in the the italian dressing and steak sauce (see tomorrow's recipe) tonight if you want. Otherwise, make sure you leave several hours time tomorrow for this step.
   
   

   Marinated Flank Steak

• 1 to 1-1/2 lb. flank steak
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• pinch cayenne pepper
• dash hot sauce

Combine all ingredients except steak. Trim fat from steak. Place steak in gallon-sized freezer bag and pour in marinade, reserving 1/4 cup. Close tightly and shake gently. Marinate all day or overnight. Remove stead from bag, discarding marinade. Grill, covered on medium until desired doneness is reached (use a meat thermometer to determine doneness). Baste twice with reserved 1/4 cup marinade.

Slice into thin slices against the grain before serving.

Baked Potatoes

 

  Sautéed Greens of Your Choice

Wash 3 cups greens and sauté in butter with salt. You may add chopped onions for extra flavor.

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Tonight's salad uses leftover flank steak from last night. If you do not have any, try using a package of deli-style roast beef (I like the flavor of the Oscar Mayer). If you did not marinade the meat last night, make sure to plan ahead today to leave enough time for this step.
   
   

 Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

• Mixed salad greens
• Sliced bell peppers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Blue Cheese dressing
• Leftover flank steak (from Friday), sliced
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing
• 1/2 cup steak sauce

Mix flank steak or roast beef with Italian dressing and steak sauce in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Layer salad greens, bell peppers, and meat on plates; garnish with cherry tomatoes. Serve with Blue Cheese dressing.

 Leftover Fruit

We purchased a lot of fruit this week so use up whatever you have left, either mixed as a salad, served individually, or served with cream.

 

Crusty Bread

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

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