Monday, November 26, 2012

Weekly Dinner Post: Nov. 26th-30th


Thanksgiving has passed us by and left me stuffed!  Now back to our regular food schedule…that includes a pizza every Sunday night J We ordered a delicious Brooklyn style pizza from Dominos.  It had Cheese, Bacon, Feta Cheese, Onions, Roasted Red Peppers, Spinach, White Sauce…YUM!
For our 4 meals this week, we plan on Fish with Parmesan-Garlic Asparagus, Chicken Fajitas, Creamy White Chicken Lasagna, and Soups with grilled cheese (a classic)!  We never plan more than four meals, because some nights we have leftovers or it’s Friday and we do something with friends or get takeout!


Meal 1 Fish w/ Parmesan-Garlic Asparagus
What you need: Tilapia or white fish, spices, asparagus bundle, olive oil, minced garlic, block of parmesan cheese.
This week we are cooking fish the easy way, simply with a buttered pan and spices.  One of our favorite spices is a real treat, it’s Penzey's Spice Northwoods. 
TO COOK FISH:  We simply take frozen fish & thaw it the quick way by putting it in the sink w/ water – WHILE it’s in the plastic PACKAGING!  After thawing the fish, heat a nonstick stovetop pan on medium heat.  Once warm, drop about ½ T of butter into the pan, and add your fish.  Sprinkle seasoning.  I typically cover both sides of my fish with enough seasoning that the entire fish is moderately sprinkled, but you can still see the white…you can always add more seasoning after you cook the fish.  If you don’t have the Penzey spice, I highly enjoy most of the salt free Mrs. Dash flavors.
How We Make Asparagus

 Ingredients

Water
Asparagus
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic
Fresh Grated Parmesan 

Bring water to a boil on your stove top. In the meantime, wash and cut your asparagus into more bite sized pieces. Boil the asparagus for 2 minutes and drain. Put your asparagus into another bowl, drizzle on your olive oil, and toss. Toss in fresh grated garlic (or a few teaspoons of garlic that comes in the jar), and grate the heck out of a block of Parmesan. Serve!

Meal 2- Chicken Fajitas 

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken cut into bite sized pieces
Green Pepper – cut in long slices
Onion – cut in long slices
Whole Wheat Tortillas
 
Optional toppings
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese 

Spices to marinate the chicken w/ for @ least 10 min:
Franks Red Hot (or other hot sauce)
Cumin
Creole
Chili powder
Optional – Liquid smoke (1 teaspoon or less)

***Neal makes this, and has never opted to share his technique…I would say use 1 teaspoon of the cumin, Creole & chili powder with ½ - 1 Tablespoon of the hot sauce.

 
Marinate your chicken.  Heat a non-stick stovetop pan on medium heat and add the chicken.  Stir and cook the chicken 5-8 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through & not pink the middle.  Then add in your onion & green peppers slices.  Cook those for a few minutes or until the onion no longer looks stiff.  Serve with tortillas and your choice of optional toppings!  Enjoy! 

Meal 3 – Creamy White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna

I use this recipe from Kraft foods. Typically I will add sautéed baby bella mushrooms, spinach and onion to mix, but it’s also great without those additions. We are also doing ½ of this recipe so we don’t have too many leftovers, thus eating white lasagna for 3-4 days!

Meal 4 – Soup & Grilled Cheese

What you need:  Warm tomato soup with a freshly toasted grilled cheese sandwich…it doesn’t get much better, and easier, than that!  If only I could eat tomatoes…okay so Neal will get to enjoy Tomato Soup.  I will have the chose between Hearty Lentil Vegetable and All Natural Black Bean…hmm which one to enjoy?

Grilled cheese tip: we put 1/2 T of butter into a pan that's heated on medium, let that melt a little and then add in our un-buttered bread & cheese sandwich ( 2 slices of bread and 1-2 slices of American cheese…pending on what you are feeling).  I let that cook a little until crispy, add another 1/2 T of butter, and crisp up the other side.


I hope you enjoy this weeks meals!  Let me know if you try any and enjoy them!

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