Weekly Menu and Recipes are back!

If I did not take the summer off of blogging we technically would be well past week 30, but who's counting?! 

However, I did save all of my menus from the summer so I could share them.  Some of the meals may not be "seasonally appropriate", but they can still serve as some weekly inspiration for you.

Here are my friendly reminders...

Weekly themes are as follows:

• Mediterranean Monday - We will mostly do Italian or Greek dishes but this day opens you up to try almost any dish. 
• Tokyo Tuesday - Asian inspired dishes
• Wrap it Up Wednesday - Wraps, Sandwiches, Burgers, Salads, etc...
• Taco Thursday - Spanish inspired dishes
• Free for All Friday - This day is used for leftovers, dining out, or pot luck
• Slow Cooker/Simmer Saturday
• Seafood Sunday 

 

***Saturday and Sunday are interchangeable depending on your families schedule that week.

As always, at the end of each recipe there will be a link to direct you to the site where I found these meals. You can print from the blog page or from the link that I provided.

 

Notes

1. My daughter has a peanut allergy so we substitute and/or omit items that may be in a particular recipe, please do the same if you or anyone in your family has any allergies/dietary needs/personal preference (vegetarian).
2. Some meals that I put on the menu will be my first time making them as well. So feedback is always appreciated
3. If there is a meal that I know my kids will not eat I will make a "kid friendly" version of it for them, I will make note of this within the recipe.
4. All families grocery budgets vary so please adjust ingredients or brands to fit the needs of your family.
5. The majority of the meals are 30 minutes or less. Meals that do take longer will have steps to help you prepare ahead of time. We all have busy schedules! 

 

Monday - Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros

sixsistersstuff

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• Tzatziki sauce (recipe below)

Tzatziki sauce

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or strained yogurt
• 1/2 cup cucumber (peeled, seeded, and shredded, squeezed and drained)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 splash ouzo (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything and let chill in the fridge for an hour or more to let the flavors mingle.

Directions

1. Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breasts inside slow cooker.
3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over chicken breasts.
4. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8 hours.
5. Shred chicken and serve with pocketless pita bread, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, and Tzatziki sauce

Serves 4, Ready in 6-8 hours
Six Sisters Stuff slowcookerchickengyros and Closet Cooking tzatzikisauce

Tuesday - Asian Stuffed Peppers

citronlimette

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ medium onion, diced

1 cup cooked rice

2 large red bell peppers

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

½ cup diagonally sliced snow peas

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions

Cut each bell pepper in half lengthwise, and discard seeds and membranes. Arrange pepper halves in a baking dish. Cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap. Microwave at high 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.
In a frying pan, add ground beef or turkey, garlic, and onion, Brown meat, near end of browning process, drain off any excess fat (if necessary).
Return the mixture to the skillet, add hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, snow peas and cook 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in rice.
Remove from heat.
Fill each pepper with meat/rice mixture and bake, in an oven safe baking dish, at 350 for 10 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro.

*This meal can be made ahead up until step 5 and refrigerated until dinner time or freezer wrapped and saved for a meal later on.

Serves 4, Ready in 30 minutes
Citron Limette asianstuffedpeppers

Wednesday - Bacon Jam Chicken Club Sandwiches

closetcooking

 

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast, pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste or your favourite grilled meat seasoning
• 4 sandwich bun, sliced in half
• 4 tablespoon chipotle mayo (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce or to taste, chopped
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
• 1/2 lime, juice
• Mix together and set aside
• 4 leaves lettuce
• 4 slices tomato
• 8 slices bacon
• 8 tablespoons bacon jam (recipe below)
• 1 pound thick smoked bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup coffee (brewed)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1-2 chipotle chilis in adobo, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• pepper to taste
• Cook the bacon in a large sauce pan an over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon starts to get crispy and set aside, reserving 1 tablespoon of the grease in the pan.
• Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
• Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan.
• Add the coffee, brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, bacon, chipotle chilies, cumin and pepper, reduce the heat and simmer until reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 1-2 hours.
• Process the jam in a food processor to smooth it out a bit but not too much as you want to have the texture of the bacon.
• If you do not finish it all in one sitting, store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
• 1 small avocado, sliced or mashed
• Package of fries or vegetable of choice, prepared

Directions

1. Season the chicken and grill over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-4 minutes per side.
2. Assemble the sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, chipotle mayo, and bacon jam.
3. Serve with baked sweet potato fries and/or a vegetable of choice.

*Kid Friendly option:  I omit the chipotles in the bacon jam.  I also serve ranch or regular mayo on their sandwiches instead of the chipotle mayo.

 

*The bacon jam and chipotle mayo can be made days ahead of time and stored in fridge until ready to use.

 

Serves 4, Ready in 30 minutes (if you make bacon jam ahead)

Closet Cooking baconjamchickenclubsandwich

 

Thursday - Mexican Beef Supreme

allrecipes

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or to
• taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (7 ounce) can green salsa
• Rice, beans, tortillas (your choice, we served it on tortillas alongside black beans)
• Sour cream (optional)
• Salsa (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook for a few minutes, then stir in the beef, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until meat is evenly browned.
2. While the meat is cooking, stir together the lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro and green onion. When the meat is browned, stir in the cilantro mixture and oregano. Pour in the salsa, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through.
3. Serve with warmed tortillas, black beans, and/or rice.

Serves 4, Ready in 30 minutes
All Recipes MexicanBeefSupreme

Friday - Free for All Friday

Use this day for whatever you want!!! 

Leftovers, go out, breakfast for dinner, etc...

 

Saturday - Crock Pot

Parmesan Sage Pork Tenderloin

home---made

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 2 pounds diced red potatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 1 (2-pound) pork loin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried sage
• 1 tablespoon salt-free garlic and herb seasoning
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Place potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots in bottom of slow-cooker. Pour in chicken broth and sherry. Season pork all over with salt and black pepper, sage and garlic and herb seasoning. Place pork on top of vegetables and top with Parmesan, pressing the cheese into the meat.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
3. Serve pork with vegetables from the crock pot.  Applesauce would make a great addition to this meal.

Serves 4-6, Ready in 6-8 hours on low
Home---Made parmesansageporktenderloin

Sunday - Broiled Salmon w/Tomato Cream Sauce

foodnetwork

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 4 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets (preferably wild)
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, parsley or dill

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. Combine the lima beans and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add the peas, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cover and cook until the peas and beans are tender, about 5 more minutes. Drain and return to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the parsley; stir to coat.
2. Meanwhile, put the salmon skin-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil; season lightly with salt and pepper. Broil until browned on top, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in another saucepan over medium heat; add the shallot and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and boil until reduced by half, about 2 more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the heavy cream and 3/4 cup water and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes; stir in the herbs. Drizzle over the salmon and serve with the bean mixture.

Serves 4, Ready in 30 minutes
Food Network broiledsalmonwithtomatocreamsauce

 

ENJOY and Have a SUPER WEEK!