Menu Plan Monday

Spring is here!  What does that mean...for me- cleaning out the pantry and freezer for various reasons.  Here is my plan for this week so I am not caught off guard.  Since we are moving in the next three weeks or so, I am picking meals that we can use up pantry items and freezer items - less to pack is my method.....

• Panko Chicken Fingers, Roasted Red Skin Potatoes, Green Beans with Garlic
• Chicken Tortilla Soup, Quesadillas, Corn (recipe following)
• Stir-Fried Pork with Green Beans, Brown Rice (recipe following)
• Roasted Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Peas
• Freezer Clean-Out (misc. bags of conveinence foods), Fresh Fruit Bowl
  

Chicken Tortilla Soup (adapted from Food Network Kitchen Easy Cookbook)

2 Tbls. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 chipotle chile en adobo, minced

1 Tbls. chili powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
1 cup corn kernals, fresh or frozen
1 ripe tomato
1 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup fresh squeezed limes juice (2 limes)
corn tortillas chips/lime wedges (optional)

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, chipolte, chili powder, and salt, cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken broth, and bring to a boil, bring down and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add corn and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Pull the saucepan from the heat and stir in the tomatoes, chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.  Serve and top with chips/lime juice.  This is a fast and easy recipe!

Quesadillas - easy, quick, and served as a side with soup

1 flour tortilla per person
Cheddar/Jack or Mexican blend cheese
Queso Blanco (white latin cheese)-optional
Southwestern seasoning
Salsa/Sour Cream

Layer ingredients on one side of tortilla.  Fold over tortilla and press down.  Grill, oven bake or pan fry the quesadilla until desired done-ness or until cheese is melted.

Stir-Fried Pork- stir-fries can take a few extra steps, but worth the time with all the flavors.  If you have your ingredients prepped you can be sitting down to dinner in less than 30 minutes, start to finish.  Chicken and Shrimp could be substituted, however, the pork stays jucier.

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cubed
3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and greens separate)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 T soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. corn starch
1 tsp. sherry
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
5 T. peanut oil
1 lb. sugar snap peas or green beans
Kosher Salt
fresh ground pepper
1 T. Hoisin Sauce
hot cooked brown rice/Jasmine rice

Toss the pork with the scallion whites, half the garlic, half the ginger, the soy sauce, sugar, 1 tsp. of the corn starch, the sherry, and the sesame oil.  Marinate at  room temperature for 15 minutes.  Mix the remaining 1 tsp. of cornstarch with 2 T. water.

Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add 1 T. of the peanut oil and heat.  Add the beans and the remaining garlic and ginger; stir-fry until the beans are crisp, but stay bright green.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and pour into a large bowl.

Heat the skillet over high heat again and add 2 more tablespoons oil.  Add haf the pork mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir-fry until lightly brown, about 2 minutes.  Add the first atch of pork to the beans.  Repeat with the rest of the oil and pork.  Return the beans and pork to the pan.  Add the hoisin and the cornstarch mixture.  Cook until the juices thicken, about 1 minute.  Mound the stir-fry on a serving platter or divide onto 4-6 plates.  Scatter the green onions over top and serve with hot rice.  Yummy!

S'More Cups

These sure where a winner at a craft night I attended this week.  Something that seemed like fall, easy to eat, and were gone before the end of the night.

I am a budding photographer -NOT!  But I am trying to utilize my Canon SW20IS.  It is the camera that is a crossover between a point and shoot and a DSLR, manual/digital operation, takes great pictures, but sometimes I never know how they happened.  So, with all that said, pardon the pics if they get a little out of focus someday all the camera classes I have taken will click...

Back to the recipe...

7 full size graham crackers, crushed finely, 1 cup
6 TBLS butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar

12 large marshmallows, cut in half
3 regular size chocolate bars, broken into 12 pieces each

Combine the graham crackers crumbs with melted butter, and sugar.  Use a teaspoon or small scoop and add to a mini muffin pan, and pat down and sides.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 4 minutes (you will see butter start to sizzle with crumbs.  After removing from oven, place one chocolate piece to each graham cup (it will begin to melt on it's own), press cut side of marshmallow in chocolate, and place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes until the marshmallow becomes soft, but not melted.  Remove, and allow to cool for 15 minutes or so.  Remove cups CAREFULLY to a rack with a toothpick, they will get crumbly if you use a knife.  Meanwhile, microwave in small bowl the rest of the chocolate pieces, stirring after 20 seconds, until smooth and melted.  Take graham cup and dip in melted chocolate or drizzle on top.  These are SO EASY, and so much fun to take to an event.  Plan on making a double batch, because there won't be leftovers.  Makes 24 S'More Cups