I spent most of Saturday working to cross an item of my Mighty List (more on that here), so Rockford* took charge of planning the menu and going to the grocery this week. He generally makes a very rough plan, and this week was no exception. Here’s his plan:
We’re having friends over for a birthday dinner on Wednesday, and the birthday girl requested something along the lines of a stroganoff or goulash. That will probably replace the fajitas.
*Best husband ever.
This was Amy’s week to pick our Recipe Roulette meal, and she chose one that I already had on my to-try list. Yay Amy! It’s Rachael Ray’s Creamed Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings. Now, I know we haven’t had a great track record with her recipes. But this has a cup of half-and-half in it. So it had to be good. Right?
Our menu plan only has four days in it this week, because I’ve decided that I’m taking myself out to dinner on Friday. Alright, fine — I’ll probably take the rest of the family along, too. Or maybe I’ll leave them home to eat peanut butter sandwiches. We’ll see how their ‘tudes are this week.
Pizza
Our weekly homemade pizza night turned into pizza delivery night last week after an allergy attack sent me down for a three-hour nap. So this week, the dough is already made and ready to become dinner!Spaghetti
Poppy has recently decided that she likes her spaghetti with a touch of sauce. Which means she’s eating a vegetable. Let the rejoicing begin!Espresso Black Bean Chili
Thanks to Mark Bittman, I developed a bit of an obsession with beans and rice. Rockford has yet to object to having some version of it every week, and wee Petey would eat beans for every meal if he could. So Beanapalooza ’09 continues! Since I don’t normally drink coffee (and neither do the kids), I’ll probably use decaf coffee for this so as not to be bouncing off the walls at bedtime.Creamed Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings
I doubled the chicken portion of our Recipe Roulette meal over the weekend and tossed it in the freezer for later this week.from Rachael Ray Magazine
One 1-pound package potato gnocchi
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup chicken broth
2 scallions, choppedCook the gnocchi according to package directions; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until toasted, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened. Whisk into the chicken mixture, then stir in the gnocchi. Bring to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper and top with the scallions.
It’s been awhile since I participated in Menu Plan Monday, but that certainly isn’t due to lack of eating. My friend Amy and I have been doing something we call Recipe Roulette and posting about it on Mondays. But it’s all food, right? So I’m putting Menu Plan Monday and Recipe Roulette together. I know. So rebellious.
Apple-Dijon Chicken
This was our Recipe Roulette challenge for the week, and I picked it. I wasn’t crazy about it. With a stronger mustard and more salt, it might have been better. As it was, though, it was pretty bland. Nevertheless, the recipe follows. If you try it, I’d suggest pumping it up a little.from Good Housekeeping’s “Fast Weeknight Favorites”
4 medium (1 1/4 pounds) skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Golden Delicious apples, each cored and cut into 6 rings
1 small onion, sliced
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard with seeds
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon cornstarchPlace chicken-breast halves between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With meat mallet or rolling pin, pound breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper.
In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add breasts and cook 6 to 7 minutes or until browned on both sides and chicken loses its pink color throughout, turning over once. Transfer breasts to platter; cover with foil to keep warm.
While chicken is cooking, in glass pie plate, combine apples and onions. Cover with waxed paper and microwave on High 3 to 4 minutes or until tender, stirring once.To skillet, add apple mixture; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Add chicken broth, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook 2 minutes to reduce broth mixture slightly. In bowl, half-and-half with cornstarch; stir into apple mixture with any juices from chicken on platter. Cook 1 minute to thicken sauce slightly.
Boulangerie Beans & Potatoes
This was the last week of our CSA. It was fun trying lots of new vegetables, but I don’t think we’ll do it again next year. We’re out of town too often to take full advantage of regular shipments of fresh food. Next year, we’ll stick to the farmer’s market. But the point I was trying to get to was this: Our last box contained a lot of potatoes. Mark Bittman’s Boulangerie Beans & Potatoes recipe is super easy and tastes great. Also, it’s an excellent excuse for using my slicer attachment. (For the Kitchenaid. It doesn’t actually attach to me. Although that would be boss.)Mongolian beef
Because I will always love Mongolian beef. And because I have a flank steak in the freezer. This is another Good Housekeeping recipe, but it does not suffer from the blandness. It’s really, really delicious and flavorful.Red beans & rice
This is another Mark Bittman recipe. The last time I made it (which was also the first time), I made a great big batch of the red beans, portioned them out into freezer bags before cooking the rice and froze them for later meals. Next time, I’m going to make an even bigger batch. Yum. Oh, and I found that the rice cooks a bit more evenly if you make it separately and then stir it all together. That also makes it easier to feed your very picky 4-year-old, who will not eat rice that has touched anything that might resemble a bean.Pizza
It’ll probably be standard-edition pizza this week. Although I do have a can of refried beans in the pantry, so we might go with Mexican pizza instead. Possibilities? Endless.