You are here:  Home / Weekly Menu / Archive / August 24-28, 2009

Monday

• Greek Pizza
• Greek Salad
• Cucumber Sour Cream Salad

Tuesday

• Chicken Salad Pitas
• Chips
• Frozen Grapes

Wednesday

• Tex Mex Pasta Skillet
• Corn Salad
• Peach Burritos

Thursday

• Michele's Signature Salmon
• Leftover Corn Salad
• Lemon Green Beans

Friday

• Stir Fry
• Rice
• Fortune Cookies

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. 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.
   
   
2. If you are using a bread machine to make dough, time it so that it is ready just before you want to cook the pizza. If you are using a frozen pizza dough, be sure to allow enough time for it to thaw. I like to thaw it for several hours in the refrigerator.
   
   
3. Thanks to Paula for tonight's pizza recipe!
   
   
4. OK...so it's not a REAL Greek Salad but it's what you'll find if you order a Greek Salad at most American restaurants. In looking for a recipe for my favorite "Greek Salad" I learned that the REAL thing (if you are in Greece) doesn't have any lettuce at all...just the stuff! but since I'm a down-home American girl...you get this Americanized version of the Greek Salad. If you want the traditional, you might try this recipe.
   
   
5. Wash grapes tonight and put in freezer for tomorrow's Frozen Grapes.
   
   
   

Greek Pizza

• Your favorite pizza dough recipe (see notes above)
• olive oil
• oregano
• basil
• garlic salt or adobo*
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 oz. feta cheese
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese

Arrange ingredients on pizza crust in the order listed. Bake at 450°F until hot and bubbly.

 

Greek Salad

• 3 cups Romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 1 cup Kalamata olives
• 1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 Roma tomato, sliced
  
  Dressing:
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Place lettuce in a large bowl. Place remaining ingredients on top of lettuce. Mix dressing ingredients in a bottle and shake until blended. Toss salad with dressing to desired taste.

Cucumber Sour Cream Salad

• 2 cucumbers
• 1/2 cup dairy sour cream
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp salad oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dill weed

Peel cucumbers. Thinly slice cucumber into bowl. Stir together remaining ingredients except dill weed; pour over cucumbers and toss lightly. Sprinkle with dill weed. Cover and chill. Just before serving, toss carefully.

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Tonight we are using chicken from the freezer. If you do not have enough chicken in the freezer, you can buy some precooked chicken strips from the refrigerated meat section of the grocer or buy some chicken parts and cook to restock your freezer.
   
   
2. Don't forget about your grapes in the freezer. You may want to take them out about 10 minutes before serving.
   
   
   
   

 Chicken Salad Pita Pockets

• 2 cups cubed chicken (from freezer)
• 1 cup cubed Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup dill pickle relish
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp minced parsley
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• pepper to taste
• 2 whole pitas, cut in half

Combine chicken, cheese and pickle relish in a bowl. Combine mayo, parsley, lemon juice, seasoned salt and pepper. Add mayo mixture to chicken mixture and stir until well blended. Place a lettuce leaf in each pita pocket. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the chicken salad into the pita.

If your pitas are not ready to stuff, prepare them by cutting a sliver off of the widest side. I find that they stuff without cracking if I steam them or heat them in the microwave briefly to soften them.

 

 

Frozen Grapes

 

 

 

Chips

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. If you don't have any browned ground beef in your freezer, make sure to add a pound to your grocery list.
   
   
2. I've already doubled the Corn Salad recipe and the Lemon Vinaigrette (and the grocery list) so there will be enough for tonight and for Thursday's leftovers.
   
   
3. Save your remaining Lemon Vinaigrette for your salad dressing and for your green beans on Thursday.
   

Tex-Mex Pasta Skillet

• 8 oz. spiral pasta (whole wheat if you can find it)
• 1 lb. ground beef , cooked (from freezer)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp salt

Cook pasta according to directions. Do not overcook, leave slightly firm. While pasta is cooking, combine remaining ingredients except cheese in a large saucepan. Stir gently over medium heat until heated through. Drain pasta. Add cheese and pasta to skillet, mix thoroughly, and serve warm.

 Corn Salad

• 2 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen corn
• 2 medium red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander (or fresh basil instead-see note above)
• salt
• pepper
• 2/3 cup Lemon Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
  

Thaw frozen corn kernels. Pat corn dry. Toss together in a bowl, corn, bell peppers, coriander, and vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed from about 2 lemons* or bottled lemon juice)
• 1/2 cup vinegar (I used white-wine vinegar)
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cups olive oil (the extra virgin light tasting is best for this recipe)

Mix first 5 ingredients in a small bowl or jar thoroughly until sugar and salt have dissolved. Add olive oil and stir until combined. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks in airtight container.

 

 

Peach Burritos

• 2 lg. peaches, thinly sliced
• 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 2 Tbsp butter
• cinnamon (to taste)
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• whipped cream for garnish

Steam tortillas or heat for 10-15 seconds in microwave to soften. Place 1/2 sliced peach down the center of each tortilla. Melt butter in a skillet. Fold up tortillas burrito-style (bottom first, then each side) and cook gently for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove from pan and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Add whipped cream for garnish, if desired.

 

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Use some of the Lemon Vinaigrette that you made for your Corn Salad to drizzle over your green beans.
   

 

 Michele's Signature Salmon

• 4 (6 oz.) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Place salmon skin side down in shallow roasting pan. Top with Soy sauce, garlic, almonds, onion and tomatoes. Cover fish with a foil tent. Bake at 350°F for 30 - 40 minutes.

Alternate ingredients: Substitute Spanish or Vidalia onions for Red onions, or top with parsley or Italian seasonings. Substitute any citrus fruit for tomatoes: oranges, pineapple, lemons or limes (even mango or papaya).

Leftover Corn Salad

 Lemon Green Beans

• 1 pkg. (28-30 oz.) frozen green beans* or about 1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans with ends removed and beans snapped
• ¼ cup Lemon Vinaigrette (see recipe on Wednesday under Corn Salad)

Cook green beans according to package directions. Drain. Place in bowl and season with salt, pepper and vinaigrette. Toss to coat.

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Tonight's stir fry can use chicken, beef, shrimp, or simply go vegetarian. If you use meat, precooked meat from the freezer works great - just thaw and saute with the vegetables.
   
   
2. This is a good meal to add any vegetables that you have on hand that may need to be used up such as green beans, carrots, mushrooms, etc. Do not be limited by the listed ingredients if you have other items that can be added or substituted. We are adding zucchini to our stir fry to use up some of the summer bounty some of you may have. See Zucchini Overload for more ideas to use up this prolific vegetable.
   
   
3. For more Stir Fry ideas see Stir It Up! Fast and Easy Cooking.
   
   
4. Make double the amount of rice you need tonight and we will use it for Fried Rice next week. This will save a step and make dinner prep easier on Fried Rice night!
   
   
   

Stir Fry

• 1-2 lbs. chicken*, beef, or shrimp (optional... you will see this on the grocery list under freezer items)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil (optional)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• jarred stir fry sauce, such as Kikkoman's

Start cooking rice according to directions. Steam veggies until tender crisp and drain. This will help keep the liquid from the vegetables from turning your stir fry into "stir soup". Heat sesame and olive oils in a large fry pan or wok. Stir fry vegetables and cooked meat until tender and slightly brown on the edges. Add stir fry sauce and heat through. Serve over rice.

 

 

Rice

Fortune Cookies

 

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

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