Week 10 Menu

Monday - Pasta Milano
Tuesday - Broccoli Cheese Soup (maybe in bread bowls)
Wednesday - Spaghetti & Breadsticks
Thursday - Unbelievable Chicken (grilled)
Friday - eating out
Saturday - Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Sunday - Chicken Pot Pies

Week 10 Recipes

Broccoli Cheese Soup
from Panera Bread restaurant
(makes approx 4 servings)

1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock or bullion
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes (to cook the raw flour taste out). Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half. Add the chicken stock, continuing to whisk all the time. Simmer for 10 minutes (it will thicken).

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree (if desired). Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese. Stir until blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

**tip: Next time I'll omit the nutmeg, and only blend/puree half of the soup. We thought it would be better with a few broccoli chunks. Also, I didn't end up using all of the cheese. I added half and then tasted it and it was cheesy enough. I was using VERY sharp cheddar though.

Link to Panera Bread Sourdough recipe (to use as bread bowls, like in the restaurant)




Easy Breadsticks
(from Robyn Campbell)

1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cut in half

Mix together yeast, sugar and water. When yeast dissolves, add flour and salt and mix well. Knead for about 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Melt 1/2 stick of butter onto a cookie sheet in oven. While butter is melting, roll out dough into a rectangle and cut it into 1-inch-wide strips. Roll bread sticks in butter and place on cookie sheet (I usually get 24 breadsticks out of this.) Sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese, or sugar and cinnamon. Let rest for about 10 minutes then bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.


Unbelievable Chicken
(from allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tbsp prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 Tbsp olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

In a large glass bowl, mix all ingredients except olive oil and chicken. Whisk in olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover and marinate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6-8 minutes per side until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

**note: This chicken marinade is very tasty, and I will definitely be making it again. I made the marinade in the morning, so the chicken had about 7 or 8 hours to absorb the yummy flavors.





Pasta Milano
(Romano's Macaroni Grill - my cloned recipe)

1 large head of garlic (or 2 small)
2 Tbsp butter/margarine
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 - 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups mushrooms, sliced or diced (your preference)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienne cut (packed in oil)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 package bow tie pasta (or one 8-oz package)

Wrap garlic in foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until soft. Let garlic cool slightly, then squeeze out garlic into a small dish. In a blender, blend 3/4 cups chicken broth with the roasted garlic until smooth (a few chunks are okay.) Set aside.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breast in a bit of olive oil just until done, when juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and slice. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to same skillet. Saute mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes for about 2-3 minutes, then add the sliced chicken back in. Leave everything in this pan, and set aside.

Tip: The next two steps (cooking pasta & making cream sauce) should be done at the same time.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Whisk in 2 Tbsp flour and cook for 2- 3 minutes. Continue to whisk, and add the chicken broth & garlic mixture. When that is combined, add the 1 cup of heavy cream. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes to let it thicken a bit. If your pasta is not quite done, turn the cream sauce to low heat and stir occasionally so it doesn't stick.

Add 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese to cream sauce. Return large skillet (chicken/mushrooms/tomatoes) to medium heat. Add in garlic cream sauce and stir to incorporate all of the chunky bits. Drain pasta, and add it to the skillet. Stir to coat pasta. Taste to see if it needs salt or pepper. When serving, sprinkle with more parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

Let The Grilling Begin

I believe the real warm weather has finally arrived, So tomorrow I'm breaking out the grill for the first time this year. Right now I'm thinking of doing grilled steaks with some baked potatoes, but I might decide to slice up the potatoes and grill those too. We will see. Saturday we will grill again, this time it's tin foil dinners. This is one of my favorite things to make while camping and since it's not quite camping season, I'm hoping this will satisfy me.

What are your favorite grill recipes? Do you have a great marinade? Tips for grilling a perfect piece of chicken? Please share!

Week 9 Menu

Monday - Grilled Steaks and Baked Potatoes
Tuesday - Feta Penne
Wednesday - BBQ Chicken & Rice
Thursday - Macaroni Grill's Pasta Milano
Friday - eating out
Saturday - Tin Foil Dinners
Sunday - Papas Con Juevos & Smoothies

Week 9 Recipes

Orange Honey Glazed Carrots
(Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa)

1 lb carrots, peeled
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cut the carrots diagonally in 1-inch thick slices. Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, butter, honey, 1/2 tsp salt and the ginger in a large saute pan and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes until all the water has evaporated.

Add the orange zest and orange juice to the pan, tossing with the carrots. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, until the carrots are al dente and the sauce glazes the carrots. Add the pepper and more salt (if needed).


Lemon Yogurt Cake
(Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 freshly squeezed lemon juice

for the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one big bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan (so the glaze doesn't drip on your counter.) While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool. For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.


Grilled Potato Wedges (and Carrots)

I took one large potato (1 baking potato) and cut it into 8 equal sized wedges. I placed the wedges in a ziplock bag and poured in about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. I sealed the bag and then squished it around to coat the potatoes with the oil. When I placed them on the grill, I sprinkled them with my favorite grill spice (click here for details) and made sure to turn them several times so they wouldn't burn. They cooked in the same amount of time that our steaks did. Very tasty! I did the same thing for the carrots, but they were a little crisp still. Next time I'll microwave them a bit to soften them beforehand.

My Favorite Kitchen Tool

I'm back. Sorry everyone, I had to take a week off. I was battling sickness, and then out of town for a funeral.

In one of my recipes for this week (Quesadillas) I mention a food chopper. Some of you may be quite familiar with the food chopper, but if not, here's a picture. Disclaimer: I got this picture off the Pampered Chef website, I did not take it myself :-)

This handy little food chopper is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. At one point I had two of them so there would always be a clean one for me to use. I use it to dice onions (my hands don't smell!) to dice cooked chicken (see quesadilla recipe) and to make my taco beef look just like Taco Bell's (the way taco meat should look, according to Mr. Dinner's on Me.) It also removes hard water stains from your kitchen sink. Not really, but it's almost that wonderful.

Pampered Chef is not the only place to find these. I've also seen them at other stores that sell kitchen supplies. Maybe hint to your hubbies that it would make a fabulous Mother's Day gift.

Post is over. I'm off to watch the much-anticipated Heroes. Have a great week everyone!

Week 8 Menu

Monday - pizza (thanks, Bonnie!)
Tuesday - Creamy Enchiladas
Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Thursday - Boston Market's Meatloaf & Roasted Red Potatoes
Friday- Brielle's Rhodes Dough Calzones
Saturday - Fajita Chicken Quesadillas
Sunday - Macaroni Grill's Pasta Milano (recipe to come)