Menu Plan for March 20 - 26

Our menu for this week is a mix of new recipes, along with some family favs. There should be no complaining from anyone. :)

Sunday - cheeseburgers and wacky mac pasta salad

Monday - whole baked chicken baked with potatoes & carrots and cottage cheese on the side (I will be using the spices from this Atkins recipe.)

Tuesday - chili and corn bread

Wednesday - grilled honey & soy chicken wings and Asian noodles

Thursday - school function - BBQ plate dinner PTA fundraiser- I will be working at the school all afternoon and evening. We will probably grab something to eat out either before or after my son's soccer practice that evening. Sadly none of us like NC BBQ so that won't work for our dinners.

Friday - lemon sage chicken with mushrooms, jasmine rice and a Greek salad

Saturday - meatball, spinach & cheese calzones

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Back to the busy schedule this week.

Short and sweet. Here's our menu for the week:

Sunday - lime-glazed pork loin, potatoes, green beans and cucumber salad

Monday - pasta with red or white sauce

Tuesday - pork soulvaki, rice and salad

Wednesday - meatloaf, "stuffed" mashed potatoes and carrots

Thursday - cobb salad

Friday - bbq jack chicken, noodles and gravy and corn (hopefully I get to finally make this recipe.)

Saturday - taco chicken quesadillas and fiesta rice.

Menu Plan Monday

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin

I caught a good deal on boneless pork loin at Sam's Club last week - $14.98 for a huge loin. I forgot to take notice of how much it actually weight but put it this way, I cut it into 3 pieces to make 3 big meals out of it. :)  1/3 of it will become Pork Souvlaki this week, 1/3 will become some sort of stew or chili and the last 1/3 because tonight's dinner, Lime-Glazed Pork Loin.

This is another recipe from my Taste of Home Cookbook. They call it Lime-Glazed Pork Chops. I was really skeptical making this today. The whole time I was wondering whether or not my family would even try it because of the jalapeno peppers and orange rind on the showing on the meat. Things have been a little touch and go at our house lately because I've been trying new recipes and not sticking to the same old, same old. In fact, I went off on a bit of a rant because I got tired of my husband's griping before he had even tried any of the new recipes. That must have worked to open their eyes to not saying anything before trying it because today I didn't hear a peep before the cut into the pork. I didn't say anything, I just looked around awaiting the first comment. My daughter piped right up and said "MMM! Mommy, this is great!". My husband and son quickly added that they both liked it, too. Holy cow! A new recipe with "strange stuff" on the meat ....and they like it! Miracles never do cease, do they?

Besides using boneless pork loin cut into chops instead of regular bone-in chops, the only time I strayed was to double the amount of the glaze. It turned out to be a very tasty recipe. I would marinate the pork overnight in a citrus marinade the next time for a little more citrus flavor. This is definitely a keeper.

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin
adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
4 bone-in pork loin chops (8 ounces each)
4 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the marmalade, jalapeno, lime juice and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until marmalade is melted. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill pork chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, brushing with glaze during the last 5 minutes.

** Notes** Keep a close eye on the pork as it's cooking. Do not overcook it.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

  

Ham & Broccoli Strata

My husband and kids gave me The Taste of Home Cookbook * New Revised Edition for Mother's Day last year. I've spent many nights flipping through the pages reading it like a good book. But up until now, I haven't made any of the recipes. I finally flipped through the book and picked out several recipes that I will be trying over the next few weeks.

For the first new recipe, I made a Ham & Broccoli Strata. Although it turned out picture perfect, it wasn't a big hit with my husband and daughter. My son and I liked it but neither of us were in a hurry to add it to the menu again. I made only one substitution - switched the Swiss cheese for a combo of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar- but this could've been a big mistake. For my taste buds, something was missing. I bet that the "bite" of the Swiss cheese would've been much better. My son didn't care for the bread in it. I think that I would try this recipe again using Swiss cheese. I would also cut the bread into smaller chunks and make sure that the bread got mixed with the wet ingredients.

Here's the recipe with the only sub in bold.

Ham & Broccoli Strata
recipe from Taste of Home

6 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese - I subbed a mix of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
1 loaf (8 ounces) French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, ham and cheese; spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange bread slices on top. Cover with remaining broccoli mixture. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, onion, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Pour over broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings.

Please bear with me.....

I'm not going crazy with all of the changes that have been appearing with my blog. The last template froze up my computer so I'm trying to find something that will work. I hope to have things straightened out by tomorrow!!