Late August Menu

cydney and i were discussing "dinner menus" and we decided that we should really post them here for others to envy and admire, but mostly for others to get inspiration. anyway, i do 14 meals per menu to minimize grocery trips. so cyd, this is for you:

BLTs
black bean tostadas
caesar salad and bread
tuscan roast pork
mini turkey burgers
couscous-stuffed chicken
artichoke chicken
apricot & cheddar chicken melt (hey, see below)
udon noodles
roast chicken with asparagas & potatoes
artichoke chicken
fuselli pasta with yellow squash & bacon
summer skillet (hey, also see below)
italian chicken soup

wow, that's a lot of chicken. :)
posted by spy

Simply Delicious Strawberry Swirl Shortcakes

Got 20 minutes and a box of Bisquick? Whip these babies up and impress everyone! (shhhh, don't let it slip how ridiculously easy these are!)

Strawberry Swirl Shortcakes

16 oz strawberries, washed and sliced

5 TBSP sugar

2 tsp grated lemon peel (optional)

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup plus 1 TBSP milk

whipping cream for topping

Heat oven to 450. Stir strawberries and 2 TBSP sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

In a second small bowl, combine lemon peel and 3 TBSP sugar; set aside.

In large bowl, stir together Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Roll to an 18 x 8-inch rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Brush with remaining 1 T milk, then sprinkle with lemon-sugar (or plain sugar, if omitting lemon peel). Roll up, starting at short end. Cut into 8 slices. Place slices on a baking sheet that has been sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Flatten slices slightly. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden-brown.

When cool to touch, slice biscuits in half horizontally. Place biscuit bottom on plate and spoon a scant 1/4 cup strawberries over top; dollop with whipped cream. Cover with biscuit top, add more whipped cream and strawberries to garnish.

posted by spyderette

Pasta Fagioli and Breadsticks

Try not to fall over...I have actually cooked something. Perfect for a cool and rainy day.


Pasta Fagioli
It seems like a lot of ingredients but it comes together pretty quickly.

1 lb. ground beef, turkey or italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-15 oz. can kidney beans
1-15 oz. can white beans
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups V-8 juice
1 T. vinegar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
1 1/2 t. thyme (or just replace all 3 of these with 3 t. italian seasoning)
1/2 lb. ditalini pasta

Brown meat in large stock pot. Add all fresh veggies and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for pasta. Simmer for 1 hour (or however long you have until dinnertime!). Meanwhile, cook pasta, drain and toss with olive oil. Put soup and pasta together in bowl and top with grated parmesan cheese.



Quick and Easy Breadsticks

1 T. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
2T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
3 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix and knead all ingredients together for 3 minutes; let rise 10 minutes. Roll gough on floured board (use lots of flour). Cut into strips with pizza cutter. Place on greased baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with seasoned salt or garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Let rise 10 minutes or more. Bake at 375* for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

posted by Kristin L., otherwise known as K. Lyman.

FREEZING GARLIC????

I know one of you told me how to do this before. Would you please let me know how to again?
THANKS!!!
Cyd

melty deliciousness

me again. and first off, i apologize for the bad photo. number one: the whole meal was less "oily" than it appears. my flash does funny things with food. i was just in a rush. number two: i really did take a bite of this and immediately jump up to get my camera thinking "this has GOT to go on the blog"! i think alan called it "super fantastic" and we both agreed this is going to be a new standby in the peck household, ranking right up there with our old favorites, blt and tacos. it's quick and easy too! so, without further ado:

Apricot-and-Cheddar Chicken Melt

(courtesy of september's Everyday Foods magazine)

in a plastic ziploc bag, combine:

¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, split horizontally

place chicken in the bag, seal, and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours in refrigerator.

4 slices good-quality bread, very lightly toasted
heaping ¼ cup apricot preserves
4 slices deli ham (i used black forest)
1 cup grated white cheddar cheese (i used regular cheddar)

line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

lift chicken from marinade and place on baking sheet. broil (without turning) 4-6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. remove foil from baking sheet.

spread the bread with the apricot preserves. place bread on baking sheet and top with chicken, ham, and cheese. broil 4-6 more minutes, until bread is toasty and cheese is melted.

posted by spyderette

Grape and Apple Salad

1 TBSP olive oil
½ - 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 TBSP honey (to taste)
whisk together in a bowl and toss with:

½ - 1 granny smith apple, cored and thinly sliced, slices halved
½ cup red grapes, halved
romaine lettuce

i’m thinking of miss Rachel and the vinegar problem and i think this dressing would be yummy with white grape juice in place of the vinegar and honey…it would give a little sweetness, a little tartness, and an overall brightness to the dressing. anyone want to give it a try? the salad was a really nice accompaniment to the sandwich. two thumbs up from my worst critic, Alexander.

Simple Summer Skillet

this was a summertime staple in my house growing up. it's great for using up all those tomatoes and zucchini! i added some leftover green beans this time for added kick and it was delish!

in a large skillet with a lid, brown about 1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef) until almost done.

layer sliced zucchini on top, covering meat completely. salt and pepper well, pour in about 1/3 cup water and cover. (i added the beans here too) cook 3-5 minutes until zucchini is tender.

top with a layer of sliced tomatoes. salt and pepper well, and cover to cook, about 3-5 minutes longer.

when tomatoes are cooked, top with grated cheddar cheese.

have some fruit on the side and call it dinner...all in under 30 minutes...oh, and you're welcome. :) posted by spydie

Cornmeal Berry Upside-Down Cake

i know this is similar to the blueberry buckle...but i had to post anyway! also, believe it or not ladies, but this is relatively healthy! (227 calories per servig and loaded with antioxidants!)

1 1/2 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen) -- i used blueberries (fresh) and raspberries (frozen)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 T finely chopped fresh basil
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beated
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil

extra berries & basil leaves for garnish

glaze:
2 tsp milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar

preheat oven to 350. grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. place berries in bottom and set aside. in a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. in another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, and oil. add egg mixture all at once to dry ingredients. stir until combined; pour over berries, spread evenly. bake 40-45 minutes. cool in pan 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen sides and invert. while cake is still slightly warm, whisk together glaze ingredients and brush on top of cake. garnish as desired with berries, basil, and powdered sugar. serves 10. would be fantastic with vanilla ice cream.

posted by spydie

Sneaky Pancakes

We are now owners of the well known "the Sneaky chef" book by Missy Chase Lapine

We tried out the Chocolate Chip Pancakes today...delish AND with healthy ingredients. The kids didn't even know they got a huge dose of fiber! Regulartity always makes the day a little better.

It says it makes about 18 pancakes...but we make big ones so it did about 10.

Starting off we are to use one of the make-ahead mixes as called for in the book. In this case we use the Flour Blend.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose unbleached white flour

1 cup wheat germ, unsweetened

On to the pancakers
3/4 c. Flour Blend

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. blanched, slivered almonds, finley ground in the food processor

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (or fresh grated apple) (let's get serious...there isn't anything unsweetened in my house...)

1/4 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 tbs. milk

1 large egg

2 tbs. honey or pure maple syrup

1/4 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (Optional Extra Boost)

Butter or Cooking spray for greasing the skillet

Mike dry ingredients (you can triple the recipe and keep those in bags to have premade plancake mix on hand)

In another bowl whisk applesauce, yogurt, milk, egg, honey and blueberries (if using frozen no need to thaw them before adding, this will prevent bleeding).

Mix wet and dry ingredients. If too thick add a little more milk. Add chocolate chips and mix.

It's not a smooth texture because of the wheat germ but she cooks up nice a fluffy!

THANK YOU SNEAKY CHEF!! Lots of sneaky recipes if anyone wants to take a look!

Posted by : Jenn-yes I really did make something and it's not from Wendy's. I could go for a good diet coke though.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Christanne gave me a massive zucchini and tomatoes fresh from her garden and gave me this yummy recipe. Phil and I LOVED it and Tyler and Chase managed to choke it down.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

A massive Zucchini

Sausage (i used sweet turkey sausage)Garlic

Onion

Peppers if you want them. I didn't have any and it was still great.

Tomatoes

Bread crumbs

Parmesan

Mozzarella

Brown the sausage. While doing that, cut the zucc in half lengthwise and remove all the "meat." Cut it up into small pieces and set shell aside. Drain the sausage and saute garlic and onion w/ the sausage until translucent. Add zucc and peppers or other veggies cook until soft. Then add tomatoes and cook until soft. Remove from heat and add enough bread crumbs and parmesan to make it stuffing-like. Salt and pepper to tasete. Put stuffing back into shell and sprinkle w/ mozzarella. Put some water in bottom of pan so shell doesn't burn and cook for about 30 mins. at 350 degrees.