Menu for June!

So, today is June 1, 2011. Thought I would go ahead and post my monthly menu for this month. I am waiting on my new issues of Food Network Magazine and Rachel Ray Magazine to add a few meals to July before I can finish that.

Wed 6/1- Breaded Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce, corn bread, roasted sweet potatoes

Fri 6/3

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Sat 6/4

Thanksgiving in June: Turkey, Rolls, green bean cassarole, cranberry sauce, stuffing

Mon 6/6

Left Overs

Wed 6/8

Honey Mustard Salmon, Roasted Asparagus

Fri 6/10

BBQ Chicken, Potato/Carrot/Onion Packets, Rolls

Sat 6/11

Pot Roast, Carrots and Onions, Potatoes and Potato Rolls

Mon 6/13

Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic bread

Wed 6/15

Steak 'Em Up Pitas, French Fries, Fruit

Fri 6/17

Garlic-Herb Red Snapper, Rice Pilaf, Buttered Snap Peas

Sat 6/18

Orange Chicken and Brocolli, Egg Rolls, Rice

Mon 6/20

Grilled Sirloin Teriyaki, Rolls, Potato/Onion/Carrot Packets

Wed 6/22

Italian Chicken and Tricolor Pepper Skewers, Long grain and wild
rice

Fri 6/24

Hamburgers, Potato salad, Corn on the Cob

Sat 6/25

Cajun Chicken Pasta, Garlic bread

Mon 6/27

Spicy Shrimp and Salmon, Asparagus, Rice

Wed 6/29

Farmhouse Casserole, fresh fruit

Beer Braised Chicken

I am WAY too full. Tonight I made a new recipe and it was much better then I could ever have thought. So... I ate too much.

But as I promised some of my followers... here is the recipe. It actually tasted a lot like a chicken "pot roast". Very rich and flavorful. I served this with some french bread to soak up the juices. Hope everyone enjoys!

Beer Braised Chicken (adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (preferably brown ale)
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 4 medium sized carrots, sliced
  
• 3/4 pound red-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
  
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Add the olive oil to the drippings in the pot. Add the chicken in batches and cook over medium-high heat until golden on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip and sear the other side, about 1 minute.

Add the beer, onions, potatoes, mustard, sugar, thyme and 1 cup water to the pot and stir, making sure the chicken is fully submerged.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Discard the thyme and stir in the bacon and parsley.

Parmesan Chicken with Pasta Fresca

This was good, simple, and very light. As some of my readers know, I can not have a lot of tomato due to medical issues. Fresh tomatoes do not seem to cause the same issues as canned or sauces so I try to use those whenever possible. I found this through Southern Plate and it was really good.

Parmesan Chicken with Pasta Fresca

Pasta
-1 box penne pasta
-1/2C baby spinach
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2C cherry tomatoes, halved
-1/2 red onion, large dice
-Fresh cracked pepper
-1/8C white wine
-1/8C balsamic vinegar
-1/4C EVOO

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a measuring cup, mix the white wine, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, and 1 clove of garlic.

In a saute pan, heat 2 tbl olive oil and saute remaining garlic and the onion until tender.

Add pasta and cherry tomatoes and cook until the pasta is seared.

Rewisk sauce and add to the pasta along with the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted.

Parmesan Chicken
-4 thinly sliced chicken breats
-2C all purpose flour
-1C plain bread crumbs
-Italian Seasoning
-Parmesan Cheese
-Black pepper
-1C cream
-Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put 1C flour in a bowl. Put the other cup of flour, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, and pepper in another bowl. Put the cream in a third bowl.

Dip the chicken into the plain flour, then the cream, and finally the breadcrumb mixture.

Using a large, nonstick pan heat the oil until hot. Pan fry the chicken until brown and crispy.

Place the fried chicken into a baking dish and bake in the preheated over 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the chicken sliced on top of the pasta and sprinkle with more parmesan.

New Month, New Diet, New Menu

So first, I seem to have some new followers. Welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy. While this blog is mostly about food, I also discuss other things on it that I find interesting. I do hope to spend more time on it with the semester ending and hope I will be able to personalize it more.

Today's post is about my menu for the month of May. I usually do a monthly menu so that I can see a general layout of meals and be sure I don't have a lot of "splurge" items within the same week. I try to be sure to have a nice mixture of meals every week. I WAS going to try and have a no meat day every week, but so far that is just not happening due to not everyone being on board about it. Oh well... I still feel we are starting to eat better!

So my monthly menu will start with this upcoming Wednesday even though it is technically still April and will go through May 31. This is due to how my shopping trips line up.

4/27: Breakfast: Eggs, ham, hashbrowns, toast
4/29: Pasta Fresca with Parmesan Chicken and Garlic Bread
4/30: Asian Grilled Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Roasted Asparagus
5/4: BLTs, Fruit, and Potato Salad
5/6: Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Mixed Vegetables
5/8: Appetizer Night (not sure exactly what yet)
5/9; Tilapia Masala, Peas, Rice Pilaf
5/11: Garlic Rib Eyes, Potato/Carrot/Onion Foil Packets, Rolls
5/13: Honey Mustard Salmon, Roasted Asparagus
5/15: Italian Sausage, Corn on the Cob, Fruit Salad
5/16: Steak Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Mexi Corn with Black Beans
5/18: Beer Braised Chicken, Spinach Salad, Crusty Bread
5/20: Glazed BBQ Shrimp, Corn on the Cob, Rolls
5/22: Grilled Balsamic Skirt Steak, Corn on the Cob, Restaurant Mashed Potatoes
5/23: Homemade Pizza
5/25: Asian Style Orange Sauced Salmon, Green Beans
5/27: Beef Teriyaki Skewers, Rice Pilaf
5/29: Hamburgers, Corn on the Cob, Potato Salad
5/30: White Chicken Lasagna, Garlic Bread

Guild Wars 2

Okay, so this little post has nothing to do with food. I ended up not making what I originally planned for dinner and instead we ordered some pizza. I was just too tired and worn down to cook... plus I had been craving a pizza with lots of veggies on it so I couldn't complain.

So what I wanted to talk about today was a little game called Guild Wars 2. I have been playing the original Guild Wars for awhile now with my ranger main. As such, I am really looking forward to playing GW2 when it finally comes out... though I am getting a bit tired of waiting.

We currently have all the races announced: Human, Charr, Asura, Norn, and Sylvari.

We also have six of the eight classes announced: Warrior, Ranger, Elementalist, Guardian, Thief, and Necromancer. However, we are still waiting for two more classes.

Even without knowing all the classes, I have NO idea what I want to play. I LOVE ranger in the original Guild Wars, but not sure I want to stay with that class in GW2. Thief looks really interesting and so does Necromancer... plus who knows what is in store with the other two classes.

I also don't know what race I want to play. They all look interesting and fun to play. Most likely I will make one of each race and see what I enjoy playing the most.

So, anyone else looking forward to GW2? What do you think you will play?

Beef Shepherd's Pie

Or should I say, Cottage Pie. Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb. Since I didn't feel like using ground lamb, I used ground beef which is traditionally called Cottage Pie. Either way, I call it YUM! It doesn't look like it would be as flavorable as it actually is. This recipe is very good and it will be one I keep and make again and again.

The original recipe is from Food Network, but I have changed it some.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
  
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup canned low sodium beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2.5 cups Mashed Potatoes (boxed or homemade)
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  

Directions

Preheat Over to 375.

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, half the salt, and Italian Seasoning. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook until tomato paste has turned brick red, about 8 minutes more.

Stir in the beef, the broth, the remaining salt, the Worcestershire, and some pepper, breaking up any large clumps of meat, cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the meat and vegetables to a 2-quart oval casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the top, leaving a 1/4-inch boarder around the edge. Sprinkle with cheese, and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Bake until potatoes brown and the juices bubble around the edge, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Grilled Sweet and Tangy Pork Chops

So, I got to page 5 of my 15 page paper today. I had only aimed for page 3 so I am really happy with my progress. So far the information I have come up with is very interesting and once the paper is finished, I might be willing to post about it.

In celebration of my progress, I decided to take a moment and post a couple of recipes from this past week or so. With how much work I have had lately, it makes it hard to keep up with the blog, so it takes a back burner to my school work. I apologize about that, but I hope to get back to it once things start to slow down.

For now, here is a recipe I made the other night. It is based off of a recipe by the Neely's of the Food Network. It was really, really good. I served it with corn on the cob and potato salad.

Ingredients

• 4 (1 1/2-inch thick) center cut bone in pork chops
• Emeril's Essence
  
• Sweet and Tangy Glaze, recipe follows

Directions

-Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

-Season the pork chops lightly on both sides with the Seasoning Salt.

-Grill the chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Brush them with the Sweet and Tangy Glaze the last 5 minutes of grilling.

Sweet and Tangy Glaze:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup tablespoon real maple syrup
  
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
  
• 1 dash Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

In a small bowl, mix together the apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and refrigerate if not using immediately.